Posted by Leah Robins on May 31, 2008

Q: We have had a pair of Mallards visit us in mid april for 8 years enjoying the small man made pond in our garden. They usually leave after two weeks.This is the first year that the pair have stayed for seven weeks and attempted to nest. A week ago we discovered a nest of 8 eggs in the ground cover next to our house. The Drake disappeared after a few days leaving her sitting on the eggs. We would see her feed or go for a swim, sometimes away from the nest for hours. Now she seems to have abandon the nest altogether. We have not seen her sit on her eggs for two days. The drake is now back and it seems like they are courting again. How long can she be away from the nest? Can we incourage her to go back to the nest by feeding her? Should we discard of the nest and at what point? If a skunk or cat or another animal frightened her, would it be unusual for them to attempt nesting again and should we make a shelter for her?

State: Massachusetts

A: I can't give you a definite answer as to why your duck has abandoned her nest since there are a variety of possibilities. But, it doesn't make sense that she would leave the nest for hours at a time once incubation began. Is it possible that she hadn't yet completed her clutch? When a duck is establishing her nest, she lays an egg each day and then leaves until the next egg-laying. Once incubation begins, however, she'll be especially intent on sitting on the nest almost all day/night. It's typical for a duck to leave periodically to drink and eat but she soon returns to keep her eggs at a reasonably constant temp.

I'm afraid there's no way to encourage her to return to the nest - if you start putting out food, you'll most likely attract predators too so this is not advisable. If your duck is healthy, my guess is that she'll nest again but not in the same location. Sorry I can't solve your mystery, nature is a really complex system that is not easy to understand. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( June 1, 2008)